


human after all.

by lycorisrxdiata



Category: League of Legends
Genre: Alternate Universe, Cybernetics, F/M, Fluff, Odyssey AU, One Shot, Pulsefire AU, Romance, for blowing stuff up in the background /, honorable mention to Jinx /
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-17
Updated: 2018-11-17
Packaged: 2019-08-24 23:34:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16650001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lycorisrxdiata/pseuds/lycorisrxdiata
Summary: ( Odyssey/Pulsefire AU ) Riven is a Time Warden, an officer  who must defend against the evils that threaten to abuse the delicate balance of the spacetime continumum. Maybe that's why it's so fitting that she goes to visit her not-so-lawful lover, who's always teaching her a thing ( or three ) about keeping in touch with her human side. ( Yasuo/Riven, Rated G for general audiences. Part of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Odyssey Zine! )





	human after all.

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: this is it, the surprise i promised ! this work is featured in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Odyssey, an online zine featuring multiple writers and artists for the skin! when i saw this opportunity, you know 'ya girl had to do it to them the way i know best - yasriv style. 
> 
> this was an incredibly fun project to be apart of and i cannot recommend it enough that you go and check it out to support all the amazing talent that's come from it! the link to view and download can be found here: https://leagueofzines.tumblr.com/post/179611798180/well-hello-morning-star-recruits-i-see-there
> 
> enjoy!

There was nothing extraordinary about his room.

It's no surprise he'd take on the biggest space. From wall to wall, she could fit two Transporters in here; she is able to pace around the queen-sized mattress while dodging both piles of clothes and the desk chair alike. She'd also found that in spite of the mess, it did not distract from the overall ambience, starlight and lamplights bathing the bedroom in a soft, orange glow.

Yes, Riven thinks, nothing extraordinary at all.

Maybe that's why she was curious — precisely because it was so simple. It would help explain her need to file through his things, be it her finger tracing the rim of a drawer, or her plucking through his worn books, raunchy poses awash with age and the wrinkling of rough handling.

_' Is this all he reads? '_

A brow is arched as she begins to go through the pile. One, by one, she scans the covers, but all are written by the same author, Brian Francis Sword.

_' Of course he does. '_

With a sigh, Riven puts them back together, though she does him a service by stacking them neat and out of the way on his already cluttered dresser. She is so enamored in her organizing that she doesn't realize her elbowing said clutter —

—  and though what drops is not more than a few trinkets and a sleek, square-shaped stick, Riven's fine-tuned ears protest at the sudden noise.

" ! "

Jumping away from the fallen objects, it takes her a moment to regain composure, honeyed skin flushed pink at how clumsy she was. It was good nobody was around to see it; after all, who would be so rattled by something so simple as that?

 _' I hope he is not going to be much longer. '_ The Time Warden clears her throat, tucks her long tresses behind an ear, and bends her knees, picking up the pieces with skittish hands. _' I just might knock the whole dresser down. '_

" Huh. So that's where I put it. "

If the first time made Riven jump, then the unannounced arrival that was Yasuo was more than enough for her to drop everything she just picked up, bolting upright as if a doe caught grazing by her predator.

" You are back. " There's a part of her that feels nothing but elation, heartbeat quickening at the sight of him whole and grinning. It's almost enough for her to smile back despite her being caught, but she then remembers the whole reason she waited so damn long.

A frown is quick to mar her features.

 " What took you? "

Under her pressing gaze, he flinches. His brow, furrowing. His jaw, tensing.

" A lot.  We were almost trapped on that hunk of rock...only ship we could use to get back here was heavily contested. I think Jinx had a good time, though - she got to blow up more stuff than usual. "

Yasuo hopes his explanation smothers the tension. She knows it by the way he takes a step forward, by the way he tries to offer up a half-smile —

Riven turns so her shoulder is facing him. Her frown hardly budged, but it's less menacing when coupled with her averted gaze and slouched shoulders.

" ...you could have sent word. " Is her eventual reply. " Anything can happen out there. "

" So you were worried about me. "

She turns on her heel so fast, her hair whips around on itself until it spills over her other shoulder.

“ _Nonsense._ “

He advances again in a confident swagger. The smile-turned-smirk leers at her, making her flush a second time as she tries to deepen her frown.

" You are **ridiculous** , do you hear me? Why would I be  — "

Gloved fingers push back stray tresses, then cup Riven's jaw with an unabashed tenderness.

" — worried?  "

" I'm sorry, " Yasuo takes his other hand  and rests on the small of her back, drawing her close. " I haven't had to send word to anybody in a real long while, so you'll, uh...have to forgive me. I mean, if 'ya want to. I'd like it if you did, but y'know — "

It's hard not to chuckle at that, icy irises glimmering with warmth as she regards him. 

" All is well. I forgive you. "

Riven remembers that humans who are intimate like constant affirmation through physical gesture. She closes her eyes and, getting onto the balls of her feet, offers a tender kiss to his mouth. A soft smile settles on her features...

...only to turn into a hard frown, with her index finger jabbing Yasuo right in the chest.

" But I swear to the Wardens that if this happens again and you do not send word, you had better  hope I am not the one rescuing you. "

The captain is rendered speechless for the moment. Then, slowly, he's smiling from ear-to-ear.

" Knew there was a reason you didn't kill me when we first met. "

" You flatter yourself. "

" I beg to differ. "

Yasuo looks down. Confusion spreads on his features, then bemusement as he snatches the music player from Riven's hand.

Right. That. He did mention _'that's where he put it'_ when she picked it up — but what significance could something so small and dense have?

" What...is that?

" This? Nothin' fancy. "

 

He pulls away. Following the shape of the bed, Yasuo pops open his drawer and pulls out a long, thin wire that splits in two towards the end. The look on her face must've been a sight, for when their eyes meet, he tries to fight off a smile.

" What? "

" You look like you've never seen this before. "

Yasuo sits down on the foot of the bed. Curious, Riven follows suit, scooting close to him but keeping her hands on her knees. Maybe it was their way of transporting, and he was planning on taking her somewhere. Best to keep her hands tucked close.

" That is because I have not. "

" What, really? Don't tell me you guys don't listen to music in the future. "

" Is that what it is? **Music**? You could have said so.

Riven pushes her hair off to a side, exposing the nape of her neck. From afar, it looked unassuming, but the more observant eye could see the six thin lines that marked where her ports were.

She's about to peel cover of one off when Yasuo interrupts:

" ...what are you doing? "

" You said it is music, yes? I need the wire. "

He bites down on his lip. Crinkles his nose.  A snort escapes him, and with a shake of his head, he takes Riven by the wrist and brings her back down to her lap.

" You guys really do got a different way of doin' shit in the future, don't 'ya? " Now he laughs, and offers up a lone earbud to the Warden. " Here. You don't need to plug it in...just put it in your ear. I'll do the rest. "

Riven regards it for a long moment before taking it in hand and doing as told.

" I did not expect for a ship as advanced as your Morning Star to house such...primitive technology. " She lilts her head to a side. " I was taught that this format of listening to music went extinct in 2104."

" You can say that. There's better ways of listenin' to music nowadays, but I like it better with some headphones in. Gives you a better experience that way. "

" I am not convinced. "

Yasuo shoots a knowing smirk and turns the player on.

" Then let me convince 'ya. "

It was hard to describe what the beat made her feel, made her think. Instead, she tries to understand it best through its sound: first, the sound of strings being plucked in a low pitch, soon accentuated by the hum of a — what did they call it, a piano? — and a soft voice singing over it.

In a way, the beat seems to tease her. Parts of it remain slow; steady. There's a pause in the singing, before the beat comes back to baseline, only to do it all again. After a few times, the voice is more emphatic, the music, quicker — at its fever pitch, a symphony of beats drop, and what a wonder that it made her want to dance! All the music Riven is used to now pales in comparison.

" This song, " She begins, perhaps more loudly than she needed to, " I really like it! "

" Yeah? Good. "

Yasuo takes her hand in his. Their fingers curl together, and the soft smile he wears does nothing less than make her heartbeat quicken

" It reminds me of you. "

 _It reminds me of you_. It was hard to believe, that something so gentle and moving would remind him of Riven when her body was fitted to be better; stronger. She was a Time Warden, meant to capture the lawless who tried to hide in the liminal spaces of spacetime...

...but, none of that seems to phase Yasuo. He wasn't afraid to say it, even if it didn't make sense, even if it contradicted what she understood her duty to be.

That was enough for her to rest her head to his chest, close her eyes, and let him hold her — a desire her still human heart didn't know it craved until she'd met him.

 


End file.
